Some objects found in sea, verificiation on to find if they are from missing IAF aircraft

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar admitted that the search teams looking for the missing Indian Air Force aircraft AN-32 have found a floating object in the Bay of Bengal, although he couldn’t confirm whether or not it belonged to AN-32.

“There are no confirmed reports or anything. But some objects are located. The ships have been asked to verify that,” Parrikar, who was here to unveil the statue of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, told reporters.

“We cannot confirm whether the objects are from the plane. They (Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard) are not leaving any chances,” he said replying to a question.

This comes even as the joint search operation by the Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy and the Coast Guard drew an absolute blank, even almost a week after the mysterious disappearance of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, the coordinated search for AN-32 continued for the seventh day today in the extended area of the Bay of Bengal between Chennai and Port Blair. Parrikar yesterday said a lot of resources have been deployed to work to locate the missing aircraft and added that his ministry is trying its best to find out the leads.

As many as 17 ships from Coast Guard and Indian Navy and 23 aircraft are involved in the search of the plane in Bay of Bengal amid receding hopes of finding any survivors.